Paragon of Sin

A tangible fear ravaged Grand Seer Rippledark's shrunken pupils, hastened his breathing, and caused his quivering palms to profusely sweat.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, like thunderous booms from the heavens, the words 'mythical punishment' kept resounding, soon reaching the intensity and rapid cadence of his pounding heart.

An unobservant child would notice his state of terror beyond any shadow of a doubt.

"..." The gazes of billions focused with anticipation. They waited for the perspective shift. They wanted to see another godly being face an insurmountable challenge.

To those lucky enough to observe before, would the Seers of the Night and their allies experience a lucky break like the Zenith Refinement Tower, or was this their end?

Shockingly, after a full minute, there was no Mythical Punishment or signs of one.

Jiang Ling had already moved on. Not only slaying Grand Seer Rippledark's first Chosen but encountering and severing his ending the life of his second Chosen, scoring two points.

Additionally, she showed signs of ascending further after merging the nine elemental energies into Elemental Origin Energy, forging a refreshingly new 'tenth' elemental birth stage standard for the stage of cultivation.

"..." Su Yi's eyes glowed.

Yue Baoyue, Qin Yingyin, and Tianshi Ya all wore expressions of understanding; Grand Seer Rippledark's allies had found the Mythical Contract! As if wanting to verify it on his own, dispersing the mounting deathly fear within his heart, Grand Seer Rippledark had tried to manifest the Mythical Oath's mark yet failed to do so. That simple act caused his entire body to relax. A heavy mental and physical exhaustion coursed through his bones and flesh, turning him into a languid husk that disregarded his image as he breathed out a sigh of indescribable relief.

He was alive. Breathing—it had never felt so good to do.

Wei Wuyin's smile didn't fade as Sun Jiazhen announced: "The stage globe's year has ended!"

The Defiant Dragon Continent was put on stasis yet again, and the players were given the choice to either select another Chosen, should they have to, discuss amongst each other, or deploy cards.

Normally, at this stage, bargaining and establishing alliances were performed. There might be an exchange of Mystic Cards between players, trying to establish themselves with the best options to claim victory, but at this stage, there was a tacit understanding between the Utmost Purity Galaxy's natives that the foreigner was in an insurmountable position.

None of them were fools; this was a lost game. They didn't even bother to exchange words, thinking on a personal scale about how to delay their loss rather than acquire victory. Jiang Ling's cultivation base was progressing far too fast and her strength from a foundational standpoint exceeded many top-tier geniuses in their galaxy.

This was no different than her having a Heavenly Alchemic Saint as a father and a Resonant Soul Realm expert as a godfather at this point.

She was envied by all watching, stupendously lucky!

Only Su Yi had scoured the continent for opportunities and a chance, trying to seek a chance with all his experience and knowledge to overcome this challenge, as he had done many, many times before. Usually, his instinct and luck were surprisingly great, and when he faced challenges like this, he would find the tiniest meansfor a breakthrough to victory.

Unfortunately, right here...the Heavenly Daos were silent. There was no tug of his senses or a prick in his mind, granting him some obscure inspiration to gain some godly advantage amidst nigh-impossible difficulties. Instead, the Heavenly Daos was loud elsewhere. Just a few meters away from him, across the table, Wei Wuyin was not only receiving godly support that others couldn't perceive, but he tugged mentally toward the greatest advantages to exploit, all without consuming any Karmic Luck Value. This was simply a passive advantage.

Wei Wuyin finally understood the Black Skeleton's words: "You, Inheritor of Sin, have acquired the right to be a Virtue of the Heavenly Daos known as— Blessed Virtue. To the heavens and earth, you will be known henceforth as an Empyrean. The depths of the unfairness and inequality extend further and further and will continue to do so. "

The right to be an Empyrean is only obtainable by Blessed who have either earned through acts of abiding by the Heavenly Daos in your past life, achieving significant contribution in upholding its order as a Blessed in your current life, or as an Inheritor of Sin, you seize such right from the heavens themselves.

"You'll have to explore what it means, but be careful Inheritor of Sin, the further you tread upon this path, the greater the danger in the pursuit of the pinnacle of all sin. But know this: When Blessed and Empyreans are weighted in terms of importance, if given the choice of who to save and who will die, the Heavenly Daos will always ALWAYS-choose an Empyrean. If two Empyreans fought for the same fortune, the greater of the two would receive every ounce of assistance that the Heavenly Daos can provide, while the other would receive nothing, and the degree of it would be extremely difficult for your Bloodline of Sin to resist."

[RIGHT ARM: Pride]

Karmic Luck Value: 262,471.1.

First Calamity: Survived - 7/7.

Second Calamity: Claimed - 1/1.

Third Calamity: Claimed - 3/3. Fourth Calamity: Claimed - 18/18.

Fifth Calamity: Suppressed - 47 Years.

The stark difference between the two was unnaturally unfair for Su Yi. It was almost as if his Karmic Luck Value as a Blessed went inert as soon as he placed himself against him. The fact he hadn't gotten a single heaven-grade Mystic Card was proof of this.

While he wasn't certain if Su Yi was an Empyrean or not, Wei Wuyin was at least certain that he was a high-level Blessed, especially considering the extent of the Karmic meal of that Sinful Sage, albeit Wei Wuyin likely earned more than Su Yi would have given the cultivation disparity between Blessed and Sinner.

This was a good experiment. After Wei Wuyin saw Su Yi fight against a Sage with unprecedented strength, he wanted to experiment with the interactions between Blessed and Sinner.

Additionally, he wanted to verify a few of his existing theories that had ample evidence already. Such as the fact that closely interacting with Su Yi or any Blessed would slowly gravitate their various fortunes and fortuitous Karmic ties his way, an innate trait of an Inheritor of Sin.

He briefly glanced at Yue Baoyue. She felt his gaze, turning to him, and her eyes churned with thoughts of Wei Wuyin saving her earlier, feeling very internally conflicted given that she wanted Su Yi to win, and now...she didn't think it was appropriate to want Wei Wuyin to lose.

'An expression of karmic tie severance, bestowing uninfluenced freedom? Granting free will through sin?' Wei Wuyin had observed numerous occasions of this happening before, especially with the female companions of male Blessed.

There were even situations where the female companions exerted this newly gained free will to willingly tether themselves to the Blessed. Lian Yu from all those years ago was a prime example of this. After thinking about it, Wei Wuyin checked off an object from his list yet again.

This was a fruitful harvest already. He intended to harvest more, however. After all, there was so much ripe fruit to pluck, hanging from low branches that the trees themselves lowered, so why waste their good intentions?

The stasis soon concluded as Su Yi chose a female Chosen, older with a strong heart.

Wei Wuyin kept the same strategy, a single Chosen.

In his heart, Wei Wuyin felt that Su Yi's choice to divide his attention had all but conceded his chances. If the Heavenly Daos was by his side, perhaps it would have led his young Chosen into great opportunities despite his age, granting him some advantage that could narrow the gap. If the Heavenly Daos were in his ear, it definitely wouldn't have allowed him to do this.

Unfortunately...

Silence.

When Jiang Ling ascended to the fourth stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, the Yin Form Phase, she was already the strongest human on the continent. While there was still the chance for a well-trained army of cultivators to challenge her, she was too low-key, her cultivation was too low and her reputation was righteous and celebrated, so what kingdom would set themselves against her? The Baiyou Kingdom was actively seeking her out, hoping to establish relations and potentially marry her to a prince.

Su Yi had played his card. (Man) Marriage Calamity, Hidden – Bestow a Chosen of another player with an opportunity to bind with another. Ensures conflict; when used, the card becomes blank, appearing as unused by other players.

It wasn't announced, but Wei Wuyin already knew. It didn't matter. Jiang Ling refused, and after displaying her peerless Yin Form Phase cultivation, those royal members, specifically their Third Princess, were smart in their approach as they decided to invest in a friendship by assisting Jiang Ling with her objectives.

By the public hand of the Mystical Judges, information was placed that led Jiang Ling to believe that the Chosen of Qin Yingyin who fled early held a so-called 'fragment.' Moreover, she was a villainous figure, a bloody murderer and thief wanted by the throne.

Qin Yingyin's eyes glittered.

She maintained her composure despite knowing that her Chosen and Jiang Ling's meeting was inevitable, and the Mystical Judges would make sure of that.

Jiang Ling set off to find her. Near the end of the second stage globe year's end, Jiang Ling had found traces of Lady Nightshade.

Qin Yingyin thought for a moment. According to the report of the Shadow Veil's task force set to hunt down their Mythical Contract, they were unable to find it as they were besieged continuously with difficulties.

If they had more time. That was the response, and her heart was chilled by the implied meaning laced with frustration and despair. Six minutes was simply too little to navigate the vast sea of space and time that was the Void.

There were Paradox Apparitions, unseemingly entities that fed off paradoxical energies that were extremely difficult to deal with. They were essentially immortal and unkillable, like an entity that existed in the past, present, and future. Killing one only meant furthering their own internalized paradoxical state, strengthening them as they incessantly hunted you down to be killed or to send you into the hands of a Paradoxical Correction, both allowed them to eat real good.

At this point, the Supreme Sages were glorified dominatrixes to a hoard of masochistic entities seeking death. Few beings could kill them or travel between time streams of the past and present so freely, so this was a great opportunity!

She made some swift calculations. Lady Nightshade was only at the Second Stage of the Qi Condensation Realm, the External Flow Phase, but she had stealth-related spells and a superb movement art that allowed her to perform incredible assassinations, yet Jiang Ling's spiritual sense and speed were at a level where all of that rendered useless.

She would lose.

And her reputation and personality would certainly conflict with Jiang Ling's, so no mercy would be given in their upcoming encounter.

Qin Yingyin could already see Jiang Ling's resolve to rid the world of a vicious and brutally sadistic murderer.

A good deed!

Her eyes slowly shifted to Wei Wuyin, thoughts fired off rapidly.

Grand Seer Rippledark looked her way, his mood had changed considerably after his crisis was quietly resolved. Now, he felt no stress playing the game.

"Don't think of offering yourself, Miss Qin." Grand Seer Rippledark's words elicited attention as gazes fell on him and Qin Yingyin.

If the Mythical Punishment was unleashed upon her, her only opportunity at life was to beseech a greater power, and the only potential connection she had with an existence greater than the Microheaven Envoy Phase of the Resonant Soul Realm was none other than Wei Wuyin. Those beyond that level, she couldn't even contact even if she desired. While Wei Wuyin would undeniably die to his punishment, he could save others. After all, he could send Guo Heng out despite being locked on to.

"You'll still have to pay the wager," Qin Yingyin calmly reminded Grand Seer Rippledark as his expression briefly shifted with an unsightly light in his eyes.

While the Mythical Contract wasn't here, the unwritten and respected rules of the Utmost Purity Galaxy were still present, and if the Seers didn't pay out, they would earn the ire of the entire galaxy, proving as untrustworthy and no one would ever interact with them again. Unless the winner died after winning, that was.

Just as Grand Seer Rippledark's eyes glowed, seemingly coming up with a retort for this Shadow Veil representative, Qin Yingyin coldly said: "Seven.Hundred. Ninety. Five."

"…"

All his words were stuck in his throat. In the end, he quietly huffed and decided not to retaliate.

Qin Yingyin's eyes glistened. She had obligations and a life. She was not just beholden by responsibilities that would hinder her from offering her services as an assassin or espionage specialist to this foreigner, but she had a lover who she refused to cuckold before the eyes of hundreds of billions.

Perhaps he was watching as well. She was left without much recourse. However, she wasn't willing to just lay down and die. She could only trust her organization.

She watched as Lady Nightshade met her end, desperately running to escape death. The righteous Jiang Ling was merciless and relentless, refusing to allow her to live despite her numerous tricks.

In the Void, the Supreme Sage of the Shadow Veil was pulled into an isolated realm anchored there. He met a starry-eyed Wei Wuyin.

Just as before, no Mythical Punishment descended despite a brief surge in the world. It was almost as if the task force had found the contract in the nick of time.

Qin Yingyin had never felt as if breathing was a blessing.

"Perhaps that's the secret," Grand Seer Rippledark calmly said.

"To find our Mythical Contracts and abolish it, they must activate beforehand. So in truth, none of us are in any real danger as long as our organization decides to pay a cost." His words resonated with the table and the hearts of the spectators.

As for the Zenith Refinement Tower, they were just unlucky to have been the first in their eyes.

After all, this dynamic of destroying a contract after activation had just begun. It felt almost as if it was a natural consequence of just being the first victim.

Yue Baoyue's eyes brightened considerably. No wonder Su Yi was always so calm!

In her eyes, she felt as if Su Yi was aware that those contracts would be found after activation and dealt with. He must have people hunting for them! He was just waiting!

Meanwhile, Su Yi frowned. He expected this after his dealings with the Zenith Refinement Tower, but he didn't account for it in the very beginning.

His goal was to navigate the situation to secure a no-death loss for Yue Baoyue and claim victory in the end for himself. Even then, there was still the wager to be dealt with! And there would only be a single winner!

Jiang Ling already had five points, and the only other person with a contract out of the four representatives was Tianshi Ya.

The only mystery was.....who found the Mythical Contracts of the other two and what did they sacrifice?

"We'll begin the third stage globe year!"

With a Yin Form Phase Jiang Ling, this was no different than an unstoppable steamroll with the outcome set.

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